David Condon proved he could win an election. But can he govern?

By Robert Herold

Mitt Romney, a former governor, canâeuro;™t get much of a foothold with his partyâeuro;™s faithful; Jon Hunstman, also a former governor, canâeuro;™t even get the time of day. But the one who ran a pizza chain and has no relevant experience for the job is still popular after multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Was it a conservative sweep, or did the hardest-working candidate win? Plus other election news.

By Nicholas Deshais, Daniel Walters, and Chris Stein

âeuro;œVoters clearly want a City Hall thatâeuro;™s open, accountable and responsive,âeuro;� Condon said Tuesday. Itâeuro;™s something many city leaders have said in the past, including the woman heâeuro;™s replacing. But it was the fact that Condon fielded questions that set him apart.

Oil spokesman Jon Hardin says trucks may only move through the neighborhood between 11 pm and 5 am. So far, about 10 of the 250 loads, which weigh 200,000 pounds and are over 16 feet tall, have come through town, escorted by the Washington State Patrol, Harding says.

The dirty business of winning a race to run the city.

By Nicholas Deshais

On the third floor of a building across the street from the Amtrak station, the office fits a couple of desks and laptops, a photocopier and piles of paper. A map on the wall lays out Condon’s doorbelling scheme..

Verner has stumbled into a PR nightmare, but her leadership still shows.

By Robert Herold

Mayor Mary Verner has not had a good month. The Otto Zehm tragedy won’t go away. Her plans to seek a settlement somehow got derailed. It seems ever clearer that the city’s police department, in concert with the city’s legal staff, moved directly to their preferred default position — stonewall.

The winners and losers of two recent debates.

By Nicholas Deshais and Daniel Walters

First, with the Zehm issue, he demanded, “Who knew what, and when?” From spending to transparency issues, the city’s bureaucracy has seized the agenda from the mayor, Condon argued from his podium. “It’s a question of leadership,” he bellowed into the microphone.